Pages

04 June 2015

If you have read my blog in the past it's no surprise that my dogs have terrible teeth. In fact, they have had dental problems for almost a decade now. Last year was tough for me financially as I planned two moves within New Jersey and then a cross-country move at the end of the year to Arizona. Usually Bebe and Jolie get their teeth cleaned every year but last year they did not. Boy was that ever a mistake. The stench from their mouths became unbearable and it wasn't until I was giving them a bath - see post and photos here - that I knew something was wrong. Bebe's tooth broke and just fell out. She wasn't in pain, didn't cry, but here I had in my hand a very rotten tooth that smelled terrible. I knew that I needed to do something, and do it fast.

Since I was new to the area I knew that I had to go off of recommendations and reviews. My dogs are also seniors so I wanted the very best vet in the area. Through a friend, I was recommended to Dr. Alex Casuccio and Scottsdale Animal Healthcare. He and his entire staff are extremely professional and I knew that my dogs were in good hands the moment I met him for the first time.

Dr. Casuccio didn't tell me anything that I didn't already know. My dogs teeth were rotten and infected and if not treated ASAP it would lead to much more serious health risks, disease, and possibly death. This is common with any infection, even in humans.

I scheduled their teeth cleaning three days after my next payday. I knew I was looking at a few hundred dollars, I paid a little over $1300 after all was said and done. That definitely hurt the wallet.

To my surprise, it was Jolie's teeth that were more infected than Bebe's. Jolie lost a total of 7 teeth and Bebe only had 3 extractions. One of Bebe's extractions was her beloved snaggle tooth which was so infected that upon removal is almost fractured her jaw. She will now only eat soft mushy food. Below are the photos that were emailed to me while the pups were in recovery and waking up from anesthesia (how professional!)

Here is Jolie's mouth:

Here is Bebe's mouth:

Bebe had a total of three extractions including her beloved snaggle tooth. Everyone just loved her snaggle tooth including me, but sadly it was the most infected tooth in her mouth. The infection reached all the way to her jaw and the vet was very specific and blunt when he said that any chewing would result in a fractured jaw. I've since then been preparing all of Bebe's food to a baby food-like consistency and will continue to do this for the rest of her life. Leave a comment below if you would like high-protein and low-fat homemade dog recipes.

Jolie had a total of seven teeth removed. Her infection was much more severe than Bebe's was and in fact I had no idea. Trying to brush Jolie's teeth takes multiple people and a sedative. Just to have the vet LOOK at her mouth that required three people prying her mouth open. She may weigh 4lbs but her strength is out of the ordinary.

Above are the medications and treatments that the vet recommended after surgery. The large clear spray is an antiseptic rinse that is to be used 2x a day. It is called Clenz-a-dent and as the name suggests, it cleans the dogs teeth. Spraying this in my dogs mouth has been quite the challenge. Bebe is good, but Jolie is a nightmare. I'm literally trying to hold her down just to get a few droplets in her on a daily basis. I've used their product in the past before and they are a good solid company. I suggest getting their product on Amazon as at the vet they are usually marked up, someone has to make a profit right?

The next item you see in the picture there are two dark glass vials of ZydaClin which is an antibiotic. As you can imagine, after removing infections in the teeth area it is important to treat the infected area. As per Drugs.com, this medicine is labeled as Oral Drops that contain clindamycin hydrochloride which is the hydrated salt of clindamycin. This liquid is given once a day to each pup until empty. 1cc for Bebe and .5cc for Jolie.

Canine dental hygiene is extremely important and can turn deadly if left untreated. I urge you to educate yourselves on the issue, especially if you have little dogs! It is common in them the most! Please feel free to ask any questions. Thanks for reading!

21 April 2015

I am extremely blessed to have my Bebe for over 12 years now. She has been the perfect little dog since the day I got her in March of 2003. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world, and not only because it was St. Patrick's Day, but because I had made my first adult decision, I had just turned 18 and was crazy excited to finally have my first dog. Sure I had dogs before, but they weren't mine. They were my dads hunting dogs, they were never allowed to sleep inside, and for sure they were never allowed to wear outfits or bows. I couldn't be more excited to take care of my at the time 8 week old Bebe. Today she is 8 months away from turning 13 and I'm still as lucky as ever to be her doggy mommy. Until she decides to leave me here on Earth, which by the way I hope isn't for another decade!

Over the past decade, boy does time fly, Bebe has had some real dental problems. It is common in the Yorkshire Terrier breed, and trust me it's not your fault. I've always fed her the best food, filtered water, and yearly teeth cleanings, however she still has very bad teeth.

A few weeks ago, as part of her weekly bath, Bebe's back molar fell out. YES, it just fell out. I heard a loud clank and thought initially my hair clip fell to the floor, nope, her tooth.

I was so mortified, I jumped out of the shower, shampoo still in my hair and wrapped Jolie into a towel and set her in the sink. As I examined Bebe, she was fine. She didn't have any discomfort or bleeding, but what I did have was a very foul smelling tooth in my hand. On the plus side, better to have it in my hand rather than in her mouth.

Bebe has her snaggle tooth holding on strong but only 3 back molars, I want the vet to remove all of these teeth for many reasons.

because of Bebe's age, vets charge a fortune now to always get a blood panel done before anesthesia, and some vets aren't even putting dogs Bebe's age under for teeth cleaning.

Bebe's teeth are bad, it's a host for infection and I'd rather have the remaining removed rather than an infection bleeding into other areas of her body, and also correlated diseases to gingivitis, heart disease.

her breath! I welcome puppy kisses all day and everyday but I have to admit I have turned away from Bebe due to her foul odor in her mouth.

How do you care for a pup with no teeth? Well, imagine yourself with no teeth or dentures, you would make sure to feed yourself with shakes and soups and the same should be done with your fur kid. Bebe has a difficult time ripping treats apart so I obviously am not buying her Milk Bones. Instead I feed her mushy food and purees that I prepare her. Using the only very best ingredients.

You can puree basically anything these days. I through everything into the blender. Carrots, fish oil, chicken, and vitamins. It doesn't bother me to do it, I know my dog is healthier this way and still getting all her vitamins. I meal prep routinely on Sunday and meal prepping for Bebe daily has gotten me more into meal prepping in general.

Please keep in mind that infections can spread so that if your pup has had teeth fall out it needs to be checked out by a veterinarian. If there is an active infection, it can spread to the dog's sinus cavities or even to the brain. Be sure to monitor your dogs mouth.